If you submit your manuscript using this system, do not send a hard copy of your manuscript to the Editorial Office.
The instructions below are structured so you can quickly and easily answer the following questions:
- Is my manuscript suitable for Leukemia? (Editorial Policy)
- How do I format my manuscript for Leukemia? (Format of Papers)
- How do I submit my manuscript to Leukemia? (Submission of Papers)
Editorial Policy
Editor-in-Chief:
C. Nicole Muller-Berat Killmann M.D., Paris, France
Leukemia covers all aspects of the research and treatment of leukemia and allied diseases. Studies of normal hemopoiesis are covered because of their comparative relevance. Topics of interest are studies on oncogenes, growth factors, stem cells, gene transfer chromosomes, cell cycle, receptors, cell and membrane markers, and more. Leukemia aims at publishing good, solid, innovative science applied to 80% translational research and 20% pure science.
All data that may lead to targeted therapy in a biologically relevant and Leukemia specific fashion are eagerly sought after.
The types of communication published in Leukemia reflect the mission of the journal to promote an effective transfer of results and ideas in a cross-fertilizing traffic from bench to clinic and the reverse. Authors should therefore make their manuscripts as accessible as possible, by keeping the needs of this broad-ranging audience in mind.
Leukemia has at heart a desire not to expose authors to protracted reviewing periods that sometimes, unfortunately, result in rejection. To this end, we endeavour to provide you with a very rapid answer in the case of rejection; that is, at between 8 and 20 days from submission. Naturally, this may mean a manuscript being returned to authors without refereeing. This decision, however, is always made on the basis of a thorough scrutiny of each manuscript by and Editor. They have aquired wide-ranging experience with papers that have very little chance of qualifying for the usual refereeing process.
In addition to the classical formats of Original Articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews and Editorials, Leukemia is open to communication in different formats such as:
- Review around a Meeting Report: Please contact the Editor-in-Chief. Occasionally we publish, for a fee, abstracts for Meetings. We usually ask for a commentary from the organisers summarising the data contained in the abstracts.
- Commentary: Invited or not. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief.
- Keynote Address: These are overviews, summarised by an expert in the field, in a free form, not encompassing all the literature but giving the state of research at this point in time and the author's personal views for the future. They are usually invited.
- Opinions and Ideas: a rubric permitting the publication of unorthodox and/or divergent opinions or ideas for new research, or on any topic, even those not related to science per se.
- Letters to the Editor (and CASE REPORTS submitted as Letters to the Editor) can only be accepted in a reasonable number. They should not exceed nine typewritten pages (including figures and tables) or contain more than eight references. Each should start with "Letter to the Editor" and have a title at the top. They must have no title page, no abstract, and no Materials and Methods section. They must be written in the style of a letter and all authors' names and affiliations must be at the end of the manuscript (including Corresponding author's full address, telephone and fax numbers). Processing remains at the discretion of the Editors, and the Authors are immediately informed. The response is very rapid.
We wish to emphasise special features provided by Leukemia:
- Bio-Technical Methods Section (BTS)...Leukemia is adamant about the need for good, clean methodology as a source of rapid progress in research. The BTS section calls upon really innovative techniques, detailed to enable others to reproduce them and displaying enough applications to justify publication.
- Debates Round Table (see below)
- Spotlight On...a series of reviews, original manuscripts and Letters to the Editor on a specific theme (see below).
Debates Round Table and Spotlight On...both feature papers published over several issues. A co-ordinator is usually commissioned by the Editor-in-Chief. However, please write to the Editor-in-Chief if you are interested in co-ordinating either feature on a particularly stimulating topic.
- Molecular Targets for Therapy: Basic Aspects and Implications for Therapy (MTT)... We are particularly interested in receiving papers for this rubric and for the rubric Leukemogenomics.
- Meetings Calendar, Grants, News: Please send items for inclusion to Dr N Muller-Berat.
Acceptance is based on:
- NOVELTY, be it experimental, conceptual, or methodological.
- SCIENTIFIC RIGOR as for regular manuscripts.
Page Charges Manuscripts accepted for publication in Leukemia will incur a page charge of ?3 (US $79) per printed page to cover, in part, the cost of publication.
A manuscript will be considered for publication on the understanding that all named authors have agreed to its submission and that if accepted it will not subsequently be published in the same or similar form in any language without the consent of the publishers. A covering letter should accompany all submissions confirming the above points. The editors also encourage submission of review articles on relevant topics and recent developments.
Format of Papers
Type preferably on A4 paper (210 x 297 mm) single-sided and double-lined spacing with 25 mm margins. Be concise and avoid repetition. The uploaded covering letter must state that the material has not been submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration for Leukemia. Authors are asked to write their manuscripts in English using an easily readable style. Spelling and phraseology should conform either to standard English or to standard American usage and should be consistent throughout the paper (eg haematological, leukaemia, centre or hematologic, leukemia, center).
Length
**IMPORTANT- Please note that due to page budget restrictions, the total length of your paper must not exceed 21 typewritten pages, including all figures and tables. It is however possible to publish supplementary material on the website if you feel that it is necessary (see instructions below on supplementary material). Different rules apply for Letters to the Editor (please see guidelines above).
Presentation
Any special points should be emphasised in the covering letter from the submitting author.
Title Page
Title page should contain the title, authors' names, name of institution where work was done, running title, acknowledgements for research support, affiliation of all authors, and name, address, email address, and telephone number including country code (also telefax number, if available) of the author to whom communications should be directed. A blank space of 5 cm should be left at the top of the title page.
Abstract
A separate page should contain an abstract of no more than 200 words in the style of Nature.
Keywords
A list of 3-6 keywords should be provided.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations and contractions should be defined in the text when first used.
Text
This can be divided into Sections with the headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. However, whenever suitable, Results and Discussion should be combined to avoid repetition. When Methods are only briefly described send details on separate pages in triplicate labeled 'for referees only.' Commercially available reagents should be accompanied by name of the manufacturer. Personal reagents should be made available to others at the discretion of the authors. Use of subheadings is preferred.
References
Number references consecutively in the order (Vancouver style) that they are mentioned in the text. Enclose numbers in parenthesis on the line of type. Cite in sequence all authors' names and initials, title of article, name of journal, year of publication, volume number of journal, and first and last pages. Be careful not to include any 'et al' references within the Reference List; these are only permitted in the manuscript text.
Citing Abstracts: Abstracts should only be cited in parentheses and in the text (never in the Reference List). Cite in sequence the first author's name followed by "et al.", name of journal, year of publication, volume number of journal, the first and last pages and the word "abstract". Personal communications should mention authors' names, month and year (a written authorization of the person cited should accompany the manuscript.) Unpublished observations are not to be referenced but inserted in parentheses in the text. (Descriptions of the data are required and should accompany the manuscript in triplicate, labelled 'for referees only'.) Book references should include all authors' names and initials, chapter title, name and initials of editor(s), book title, volume, edition, name and location of publisher, year of publication, first and last pages.
Figure Legends should be typed in a separate page and be comprehensive enough to avoid returning frequently to the text.
Footnotes should be placed on a separate page and numbered consecutively throughout the article.
Color photographs. The cost of printing will be at the expense of the authors and charges will be advised by Nature Publishing Group at time of receipt of accepted manuscript at the publisher; preliminary details of cost can be obtained upon enquiry to the Editor at submission of the manuscript.
House Style
As the electronic submission will provide the basic material for typesetting, it is important that papers are prepared in the editorial style of the journal.
Use the same sans serif typeface for all figures (Arial, Univers¡) at 12pt
Do not make rules thinner than 1pt (0.36mm)
Use a coarse hatching pattern rather than shading for tints in graphs
Figures divided into parts should be labelled with a lower case, bold 'a','b', et cetera, in the top left hand corner. Labelling of axes, keys and so on should be in "Title case" with no full stop. Units must have a space between the number and the unit, and follow the nomenclature common to your field
Commas should not be used to separate thousands
Unusual units or abbreviations should be spelt out in full, or defined in the legend
Colour should be distinct when being used as an identifying tool
Tables
Each table should be numbered consecutively with an Arabic numeral. Each should have a separate caption or title. Methods not described in the text and abbreviations should be explained at the foot of the Table. Tables should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper. Unlike figures or images, tables may be included in the electronic word processed manuscript file, or supplied as separate electronic files.
Illustrations
In the manuscript text file: Figures should be in numerical order with Arabic numerals. Each figure should have a title and a detailed legend, as appropriate, listed consecutively on a separate page titled 'Titles and legends to figures'. All explanatory details should be provided in the legend, not the Figure, with the exception of keys which should be embedded within the figure and not in the legend. Figures should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper.
Illustration files: Supply the actual figures as separate electronic files. Symbols, lettering, and numbering should be clear and large enough to be legible after the figure has been reduced. Please indicate the magnification by a rule. The use of 'three-dimensional' histograms is strongly discouraged when the addition of the third dimension gives no extra information. While illustrations should be referred to specifically in the body of the manuscript text file they must not included as part of that file.
Please do not prepare illustrations using Powerpoint software, as that is unsuitable for production.
Quality requirements for Figures
| Graphs and Line Illustrations in Grayscale |
600dpi |
| Photographs/Halftones (Grayscale) |
300dpi minimum |
| Colour Illustrations in split CMYK |
400dpi |
Photographs
If you would prefer to submit hardcopy photographs or illustrations, please contact the journal office for specific instructions pertaining to quality, fineness of grain, indication of magnification, and marking up multiple copies.
Artwork Guidelines
Detailed guidelines for submitting artwork can be found by downloading the guidelines PDF. Using the guidelines, please submit production quality artwork with your initial online submission. A JPEG prepared using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw (or similar industry software) is preferable. Many applications have options to save files as JPEGs, but it is worth noting that sometimes they are only saved at 72dpi, whereas we require 300-600dpi. Following the peer review process, if your paper is accepted for publication, we will not require the artwork to be resubmitted if you have followed the guidelines.
File Formats
File formats for manuscript files, figures and tables that are acceptable for our electronic manuscript submission process are given on the online forms. Further advice on filetypes is also available from the 'Tips' webpage.
Text: You should use a common word processing package (such as Microsoft Word).
Figures must be uploaded as separate files, in either JPEG or TIFF format.
Tables should also be separate from the text document and uploaded separately in Excel format. Please remember though, that you tables are to be printed, therefore it is not advisable to use complicated features in Excel (such as hidden lines, functions, etc) as these will not transfer to print medium.
If you submit raw data, this can be done in Excel or tab/comma delimited format.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS:
These format rules are more important should your paper be accepted for publication; we do not strictly require this for initial submission or the peer review process. For this all we request is that your text, figures and tables are all visible and clear on the website. If, however, your paper is accepted, the items will need to be supplied according to the format rules above.
If your files are large...
...or your Internet connection is slow (28kbps or below) you may wish to submit low quality artwork for peer review purposes. High quality artwork will then be requested if your paper is accepted. This may be sent as an email attachment or by post on CD-ROM (600MB), ZIP (100-200MB), 3.5¡± floppy (1.44MB), or 5.25¡± floppy (1.2MB). At that stage, you should email the journal office at: leukemiajournal@compuserve.com for the correct address.
Editorial Office
Queries and editorial correspondence should be forwarded to leukemiajournal@compuserve.com
Page Charges
Colour figures can be reproduced if necessary, but the authors will be expected to contribute towards the cost of publication. A quote will be supplied on acceptance of your paper.
Colour on the Web
Authors who wish their articles to have FREE colour figures on the web (only available in the HTML full text version of manuscripts and NOT on the online PDF) must supply separate files in the following format. These files should be submitted as supplementary information and authors are asked to mention they would like colour figures on the web in their submission letter.
For Single Images :
| Width |
500 pixels (authors should select "constrain proportions", or equivalent instructions, to allow the application to set the correct height automatically.) |
| Resolution |
72 dpi (dots per inch) or "Save for Web" if using Photoshop |
| Format |
JPEG for photographs
GIF for line drawings or charts |
| Filenaming |
Please save image with .jpg or .gif extension to ensure it can be read by all platforms and graphics packages. |
For Multi-part Images :
| Width |
900 pixels (authors should select "constrain proportions", or equivalent instructions, to allow the application to set the correct height automatically.) |
| Resolution |
72 dpi (dots per inch) or "Save for Web" if using Photoshop |
| Format |
JPEG for photographs
GIF for line drawings or charts |
| Filenaming |
Please save image with .jpg or .gif extension to ensure it can be read by all platforms and graphics packages. |
Authors may be asked to pay the full colour fee for figures that are not submitted in the format described above.
Supplementary information
Supplementary information is peer-reviewed material directly relevant to the conclusion of an article that cannot be included in the printed version owing to space or format constraints. It is posted on the journal's web site and linked to the article when the article is published and may consist of data files, graphics, movies or extensive tables.
The printed article must be complete and self-explanatory without the supplementary information. Supplementary information enhances a reader’s understanding of the paper but is not essential to that understanding.
Supplementary information must be supplied to the editorial office in its final form for peer review. On acceptance the final version of the peer reviewed supplementary information should submitted with the accepted paper. Supplementary information is not subedited, so authors should ensure that it is supplied ready for publication online.
To ensure that the contents of the supplementary information files can be viewed by the editor(s), referees and readers, please also submit a ‘read-me?file containing brief instructions on how to use the file.
The supplementary information may not be altered, nor new supplementary information added, after the paper has been accepted for publication.
Supplying supplementary information files
Please supply the supplementary information via eJP, the electronic manuscript submission and tracking system, in an acceptable file format (see below).
Authors should:
Include a text summary (no more than 50 words) to describe the contents of each file.
Identify the types of files (file formats) submitted.
Include the text ‘Supplementary information is available at (the journal’s name)’s website?at the end of the article and before the references.
Accepted file formats
Quick Time files (.mov)
Graphical image files (.gif)
HTML files (.html)
MPEG movie files (.mpg)
JPEG image files (.jpg)
Sound files (.wav)
Plain ASCII text (.txt)
Acrobat files (.pdf)
MS Word documents (.doc)
Postscript files (.ps)
MS Excel spreadsheet documents (.xls)
We cannot accept TeX and LaTeX.
File sizes must be as small as possible, so that they can be downloaded quickly. Images should not exceed 640 x 480 pixels (9 x 6.8 inches at 72 pixels per inch) but we would recommend 480 x 360 pixels as the maximum frame size for movies. We would also recommend a frame rate of 15 frames per second. If applicable to the presentation of the supplementary information, use a 256 colour palette. Please consider the use of lower specification for all of these points if the supplementary information can still be represented clearly. Our recommended maximum data rate is 150 KB/s.
The number of files should be limited to eight, and the total file size should not exceed 3 MB. Individual files should not exceed 1 MB. Please seek advice from the editorial office before sending files larger than our maximum size to avoid delays in publication.
Further questions about the submission or preparation of supplementary information should be directed to the editorial office.
Proofs and Copyright
A PDF of your page proof will be emailed to you together with an offprint order form. Instructions on how to return the form and corrections accompany the proof. Proofs must be checked and returned within 48 hours together with the completed form. Extensive changes to the proof cannot be accepted at this stage.
Before publication the principal author will be asked to sign a Licence to Publish form. If and when a manuscript is accepted for publication it will become the sole property of the journal. Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that all persons listed as authors have given their approval. Any material published in Leukemia reflects the opinions of the authors only and not that of the Editors and the Publisher.
Offprints
Twenty-five offprints will be supplied free of charge to the principal author. Additional offprints may be ordered on the form accompanying the proofs. The charges are necessarily higher if orders for reprints are received after the issue has gone to press.
Business Matters
Business correspondence and enquiries relating to advertising, subscriptions, back issues or reprints should be addressed to the relevant person at Nature Publishing Group.
Alternatively, please contact the Executive Editor:
Emma Greenwood, PhD
Leukemia,
Nature Publishing Group
The Macmillan Building, 4 Crinan Street, London
N1 9XW, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: + 44 (0)207 833 4000
Fax: + 44 (0)207 843 4839
E-mail: e.greenwood@nature.com
Submission of Papers
Firstly, if you have not done so already, please register for an account. After this, please consult the instructions below to enable you to submit your article through our secure server.
For optimum performance, we recommend that your browser should be either Netscape 4.7 or above, or Internet Explorer 5.0 and above.
Please be sure that your browser is set to accept cookies. Our tracking system requires cookies for proper operation. (If you have Windows XP the defaults will need changing. For more details on this, please refer to the 'Tips' function on this site.)
Navigating the System
When you first access our tracking system, you will be taken to your ¡®Home¡¯ page, where different categories of ¡®tasks¡¯ are listed. If you are required to perform a pending action item or task, there will be a red arrow 
next to a 'Manuscript' link. Throughout the system, red arrows reflect pending action items which you should address. If there are no red arrows visible on your ¡®Home¡¯ page, then you are finished and have no outstanding tasks to complete.
At any time please press MANUSCRIPT HOME to go to the submission home page.
Process for Manuscript Submission
Starting
Please make sure you have gathered all the required manuscript information listed above BEFORE starting the submission process. The manuscript submission process starts by pressing the "Submit Manuscript" link on your "Home" page.
The manuscript submission process is broken down into a series of 4 screens which gather detailed information about your manuscript and allow you to upload the pertinent text and figure/image files. The screens run in this order:
- A form asking for author details, the manuscript title, abstract, other associated manuscript information and types/number of files to be submitted.
- A screen asking for the actual file locations (via an open file dialogue). You will be able to browse for the relevant files on your computer or disk. After completing this screen, your files will be uploaded to our server.
- A completion screen that will provide you with a unique manuscript number for your submission.
- An approval screen which will allow you to verify that your manuscript has been uploaded and the files converted correctly to PDF format. You will need to approve each converted file in turn to complete your manuscript submission.
You will need to have the following details for each author before commencing online submission. Items in parenthesis may not be compulsory for co-authors:
- Email Addresses
- First and Last Names
- Institution
- (Full Postal Address)
- (Work Telephone Numbers)
- (Fax Number)
Please note: It is NOT necessary to enter the details of the corresponding author twice (i.e. once as corresponding and once as contributing author). The only time an author should be entered twice is if he or she is both the corresponding AND first author for the manuscript. When entering author details, please always search for names using the facility provided as this prevents duplicate logins.
In addition, all Manuscript details:
- Covering Letter
- Title and Running Title (you may copy and paste this from your manuscript)
- Abstract (you may copy and paste this from your manuscript)
- Manuscript files in Word, WordPerfect, Text, or RTF format.
- Figures/Images in external files in TIFF, or JPG in either grayscale or CMYK colour, not in RGB.
- Tables in Excel.
NB Never embed the figures/images within the text from word processing software as embedded figures/images are not acceptable for production. Non-tabular supporting data submission (where applicable) must be as XLS spreadsheet.
Adobe Acrobat
We recommend that for accessing the PDF files, best results are achieved if you have access to Adobe Acrobat Reader (4.0 or above). Should you require installation of this FREE program, please download from the link here and follow the on-screen instructions. (We recommend that on completion of installation, you amend one of the default settings. Select: File - Preferences - General, and UNCHECK Web Browser Integration. This will open PDF files in Acrobat Reader itself rather than in your browser. The amendment will not affect any functionality of either Acrobat Reader or your browser software.)
Please refrain from submitting your manuscript by email attachment or hardcopy. Do not send hardcopies to the journal office in addition to submitting online. If the site replicates your details on screen, then your paper has been successfully submitted.
Once you have submitted your files and the conversion is in progress, you may log off the Internet and come back later to check and approve the conversion. This process can take up to 5 ¨C 10 minutes before the PDF, created in the conversion process, is ready for approval. Please remember that your manuscript will not be submitted until you have approved the converted files.
Getting Help
If you need additional help, you can click on the help signs 
spread throughout the system. A help dialogue will pop up with context sensitive help. Should further assistance be required, then please contact:leukemiajournal@compuserve.com, telephone +33 140 03 67 68/69, fax +33 142 49 40 85 during normal office hours (Paris).
Manuscript Status
After the approval stage your manuscript is submitted. You will receive an acknowledgement email. You can check the status of your manuscript at any time in the review process by:
- Accessing the system with your login name and password or the link sent to you in the acknowledgement email
- Clicking on the link represented by your manuscript tracking number and abbreviated title.
- Clicking on the "Check Status" link at the bottom of the displayed page.
